Friday, August 23, 2013

Women are also people...

Women are also people...aren't they? I think sometimes many of us forget that and start offering them advice which they don't even ask for, start reminding them their own greatness (for our own selfish reasons), their duties and qualities they should possess as a part of their womanhood (like kindness, compassion, forgiveness, etc.). People start saying they are this and that but forget basic fact that they are also people like rest of us (specially men) and have same good and bad qualities like us (men), they are not very different, they have same basic needs and need to be given same rights and freedom, nothing else, no more, no less.

Some time back I read one poem written by a woman student in Delhi which was quoted by Hilary Clinton in one of her speech in India, "When a woman gives her love, as most do generously, it is accepted. When a woman shares her thoughts, as some women do, graciously, it is allowed. When a woman fights for power, as all women would like to do, quietly or loudly, it is questioned...Yes, there must be freedom, if we are to speak. And yes, there must be power, if we are to be heard. And when we have both (freedom and power), let us not be misunderstood." As long as women are kind, submissive, supportive, do what everyone suppose them to do, everything is fine, the time they ask for their rights, exercise them, then many times there is a problem, they are accused of overstepping their limits. Very recently I read a post about one foreign student's horrible experience about sexual harassment in India, the post was very heart wrenching and disturbing, why some people always look at women just like some physical object? Why can't they consider them just as another person like them? A person who deserves equal respect and dignified treatment which they themselves expect to receive.

How many more horrific examples like this we need to show that there is some kind of sickness present in society when women are treated like this? And let me make one thing very clear here, I am not just talking about India here, it's very sad these things happen in a country where female goddesses are worshiped. I agree that this is a major problem there, eve teasing is very common, something many women and girls have to face every day. But just because I shared the link where a victim shared her horrible experience in India it should not give an impression to readers that India is rape capital of world or these type of things happen only in India, in fact they happen all over world, much worse in many other places, only ways and methods differ, but more or less this happens all over the world, every society is facing this problem.

I think one of the reason this is still happening is because many men and even some women are still not willing to accept the equal status of women in society, they still look at them just as an object to satisfy their sexual desires and other needs, nothing more. They still think that women are not equal to them just because they are physically weak compared to them, many of them always cite this difference to show inequality between two genders. They still believe that mere physical strength gives them fundamental right to dominate them in all areas and consider them as weaker sex. They still want to believe that women are less capable compared to them, even though there are ample examples around us to prove that this is far from the truth. I always wonder how hard it can be to understand simple fact that women deserve or rather command respect and equal rights. They have already proven their strength and capabilities in all areas beyond any doubts wherever they got opportunities. They successfully challenged restrictions forcibly enforced on them by society and culture which thought they are fit only for particular job. It seems the demand of equality from women is bit too much to handle for some conservative groups and people, they can't imagine her breaking free the shackles and flying high. These people and groups expect men and women to behave only in particular way, they fail to understand that both are humans with equal rights and responsibilities, more importantly, they forget that women are also people. They are people who deserve equal status and opportunities in society, people who demand no more or less but equal, I don't think this is a unreasonable demand at all, today or tomorrow everyone in our society have to agree to this, whether they like it or not this is bound to happen.